Whole document restricted, see Access Instructions file below for details of how to access the print copy. / Approaching retirement, individuals are confronted by a range of future risks and uncertainties. The primary worry is insufficient income and the associated danger of outliving one's capital. New Zealand has a unique approach for reducing this risk, comprising a universal state pension supplemented by voluntary unsubsidised saving. This simple model meets poverty prevention objectives, but middle-income baby-boom cohorts may struggle to achieve their income-replacement aspirations. The modest capital they have saved to supplement the state pension is exposed to the risks of inflation, poor investment outcomes, growth in living standards, and increasing longevity. They will enter retirement with significantly less private pension provision than previous generations and while they may hold a high proportion of their assets in owner-occupied homes, this equity is not readily accessed. They and their families also face the risk that they might require costly long-term residential care in old age. Women are likely to be particularly affected, not only as the spouses of men needing care, but, because of greater average longevity, they have a higher propensity to need long-term care themselves. Pension design and annuity markets are neglected areas of inquiry in New Zealand. In part this is because international pressures to privatise the state pension by setting up compulsory savings schemes in the private sector have been resisted. This thesis outlines the historical, practical, political and theoretical factors that explain the demise of private pensions and annuities. This provides a record of international interest as New Zealand is the first developed country to institute a tar neutral environment for retirement saving. While the New Zealand model is largely a credible one, there are significant shortcomings. This thesis examines whether economic theories can cast new light on what should be done and finds the experimentation of a pragmatic kind that has gone on historically precludes highly theoretical or ideological policy solutions. Normative judgements about well-being and distribution cannot be avoided. An integrated approach to reforming the New Zealand system is explored, based on the advantages of linking certain kinds of insurance. A substantial role for the state is inescapable; especially in the annuities market, which, it is argued, should be developed to play a significant role in retirement policy options. A state-guaranteed life annuity linked to long-term care insurance financed by a combination of cash and home equity is proposed, subsidised by intragenerational transfers from the retired population. This reform proposal builds on the existing pre-retirement saving policy and keeps the state pension as the cornerstone. The pay-off is improved welfare for middle-income retirees, greater economic efficiency, lower fiscal cost and improved equity both across and within generations. A greater credibility for the New Zealand model in international forums is also likely to follow.

Whole document restricted, see Access Instructions file below for details of how to access the print copy. / Approaching retirement, individuals are confronted by a range of future risks and uncertainties. The primary worry is insufficient income and the associated danger of outliving one's capital. New Zealand has a unique approach for reducing this risk, comprising a universal state pension supplemented by voluntary unsubsidised saving. This simple model meets poverty prevention objectives, but middle-income baby-boom cohorts may struggle to achieve their income-replacement aspirations. The modest capital they have saved to supplement the state pension is exposed to the risks of inflation, poor investment outcomes, growth in living standards, and increasing longevity. They will enter retirement with significantly less private pension provision than previous generations and while they may hold a high proportion of their assets in owner-occupied homes, this equity is not readily accessed. They and their families also face the risk that they might require costly long-term residential care in old age. Women are likely to be particularly affected, not only as the spouses of men needing care, but, because of greater average longevity, they have a higher propensity to need long-term care themselves. Pension design and annuity markets are neglected areas of inquiry in New Zealand. In part this is because international pressures to privatise the state pension by setting up compulsory savings schemes in the private sector have been resisted. This thesis outlines the historical, practical, political and theoretical factors that explain the demise of private pensions and annuities. This provides a record of international interest as New Zealand is the first developed country to institute a tar neutral environment for retirement saving. While the New Zealand model is largely a credible one, there are significant shortcomings. This thesis examines whether economic theories can cast new light on what should be done and finds the experimentation of a pragmatic kind that has gone on historically precludes highly theoretical or ideological policy solutions. Normative judgements about well-being and distribution cannot be avoided. An integrated approach to reforming the New Zealand system is explored, based on the advantages of linking certain kinds of insurance. A substantial role for the state is inescapable; especially in the annuities market, which, it is argued, should be developed to play a significant role in retirement policy options. A state-guaranteed life annuity linked to long-term care insurance financed by a combination of cash and home equity is proposed, subsidised by intragenerational transfers from the retired population. This reform proposal builds on the existing pre-retirement saving policy and keeps the state pension as the cornerstone. The pay-off is improved welfare for middle-income retirees, greater economic efficiency, lower fiscal cost and improved equity both across and within generations. A greater credibility for the New Zealand model in international forums is also likely to follow.

Whole document restricted, see Access Instructions file below for details of how to access the print copy. / Approaching retirement, individuals are confronted by a range of future risks and uncertainties. The primary worry is insufficient income and the associated danger of outliving one's capital. New Zealand has a unique approach for reducing this risk, comprising a universal state pension supplemented by voluntary unsubsidised saving. This simple model meets poverty prevention objectives, but middle-income baby-boom cohorts may struggle to achieve their income-replacement aspirations. The modest capital they have saved to supplement the state pension is exposed to the risks of inflation, poor investment outcomes, growth in living standards, and increasing longevity. They will enter retirement with significantly less private pension provision than previous generations and while they may hold a high proportion of their assets in owner-occupied homes, this equity is not readily accessed. They and their families also face the risk that they might require costly long-term residential care in old age. Women are likely to be particularly affected, not only as the spouses of men needing care, but, because of greater average longevity, they have a higher propensity to need long-term care themselves. Pension design and annuity markets are neglected areas of inquiry in New Zealand. In part this is because international pressures to privatise the state pension by setting up compulsory savings schemes in the private sector have been resisted. This thesis outlines the historical, practical, political and theoretical factors that explain the demise of private pensions and annuities. This provides a record of international interest as New Zealand is the first developed country to institute a tar neutral environment for retirement saving. While the New Zealand model is largely a credible one, there are significant shortcomings. This thesis examines whether economic theories can cast new light on what should be done and finds the experimentation of a pragmatic kind that has gone on historically precludes highly theoretical or ideological policy solutions. Normative judgements about well-being and distribution cannot be avoided. An integrated approach to reforming the New Zealand system is explored, based on the advantages of linking certain kinds of insurance. A substantial role for the state is inescapable; especially in the annuities market, which, it is argued, should be developed to play a significant role in retirement policy options. A state-guaranteed life annuity linked to long-term care insurance financed by a combination of cash and home equity is proposed, subsidised by intragenerational transfers from the retired population. This reform proposal builds on the existing pre-retirement saving policy and keeps the state pension as the cornerstone. The pay-off is improved welfare for middle-income retirees, greater economic efficiency, lower fiscal cost and improved equity both across and within generations. A greater credibility for the New Zealand model in international forums is also likely to follow.

Diss. Uppsala : Univ., 2003.

Diss. Umeå : Univ., 2005.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2008. / CD-ROM: Titel från titelskärmbild. Även utgiven som CD-ROM.

Zugl.: Duisburg, Essen, Universiẗat, Diss., 2008.

Zugl.: Duisburg, Essen, Univ., Diss., 2008 / Zusätzliches Online-Angebot unter www.ESV.info/978 3 503 12426 8

Inom den offentliga sektorn har individuell lönesättning blivit ett vanligare tillvägagångsätt för att öka anställdas prestationsnivå. Även tro på den egna förmågan har en betydande roll för hur arbetsgivare bör hantera sin anställda vid lönesättning. Personer med hög self-efficacy söker sig till arbetsplatser med individuell lönesättning i högre grad än anställda med låg self-efficacy. Studiens syfte var att undersöka anställda inom den offentliga sektorns attityd till individuell lönesättning utifrån grad av self-efficacy och självskattad prestationsnivå. 174 anställda i åldrarna 19-68 tillfrågades om att delta i studien. Enkäten bestod av påståenden om attityd till individuell lönesättning, arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy och självskattad prestationsnivå. Resultatet visa på ett signifikant samband mellan attityd till individuell lönesättning och self-efficacy samt en tendens till ett positivt samband mellan attityd till individuell lönesättning och prestation. Slutsatsen blev att anställda med högre self-efficacy har en mer positiv attityd till individuell lönesättning men att det krävs mer forskning inom ämnet.

This thesis is focused on positive affect in the workplace, with a particular emphasis on the UK public sector. Three samples of data were taken from 433 respondents across nine participating organizations with the aim of identifying those who rate themselves as happy and upbeat and whom others are noticing in this regard. Thus, the thesis goes beyond the analysis of those who are self-nominated as happy, seeking those who are flourishing (denoted throughout as Happy Plus or H+ ) which, for the purposes of this thesis, are categorised as employees whose positive affect is contagious. The data identified 45 H+ respondents, ascertaining that their happiness has a degree of longevity that is in line with eudaimonic sources and that the state of flourishing is unlikely to be accidental. The flourishing respondents were measured on 16 workplace emotions and compared against a group of 388 non-flourishing work colleagues. The H+ respondents recorded higher scores in all 4 emotions associated with employee engagement (enthusiastic, joyful, inspired & excited) and employee satisfaction (calm, relaxed, laid back & at ease) while the NonH+ group scored higher in emotions associated with stress (nervous, anxious, tense & worried) and depression (dejected, despondent, hopeless & depressed). Independent samples t-tests (using the Bonferroni correction) suggest these differences are statistically significant in 13 of the 16 affects measured. This is salient in that the more vigorous sense of employee engagement tends to result in pro-social behaviours that are correlated with bottom-line performance. The thesis then sought to discover the means by which the H+ respondents achieve and maintain their flourishing status. Following Lyubomirsky s (2007) contention that if an individual s genes and circumstances are fixed (in the immediacy of here and now) then it is the 40% of one s intentional strategies that will differentiate the flourishing from their non-flourishing colleagues. Thus, the H+ and NonH+ groups were compared on a raft of seventeen within-person strategies. The flourishing group rate choosing to be positive as their biggest single strategy, with the corollary that attitudinal choice requires both awareness and effort. It is postulated that engaged employees are attitude maximizers rather than satisficers , in that they are less likely to make do with ambivalent attitudes, striving to be as positive as they are able. Flourishing employees are also significantly more likely to set goals, play to their strengths, have positive internal dialogue, reframe negative events and consume less news. They indulge in what is termed life-crafting in which they alter their thoughts and circumstances to maximise their likelihood of remaining happy. The thesis concludes with a series of recommendations, focusing on co-creation , the idea that happiness emerges as a collective and cooperative endeavour that requires both favourable working conditions and individual effort. As such, recommendations are aimed at how organizations can learn from the findings to implement structures and policies that are best placed to facilitate flourishing cultures. There is a further set of recommendations alluding to what individuals can do to raise their own happiness levels. As such, it is argued that organizational culture change is not simply a matter of instigating top-down or bottom-up remedies, but rather eliciting change that emanates from inside-out.